New zealand

The governmental structure of New Zealand is modelled on the British parliamentary system, elections being based on universal adult suffrage. The minimum voting age is 18 and candidates are elected by secret ballot. The maximum period between elections is three years, but the interval can be shorter for various reasons, and the government of the day can call an early election. Voting is not compulsory, although on average more than 80% of those eligible to vote do so.

The difference between the UK's Westminster system and the NZ model is that New Zealand has abolished the upper house and governs solely through the lower house. Known as the House of Representatives, it has 120 member's seats. The government runs on a party system. The party that wins a majority of seats in an election automatically becomes the government and its leader, the prime minister. The two main parties are the National (conservative) and Labour parties.

Like the UK, New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. The traditional head of state, the reigning British king or queen, is represented by a resident governor-general, who is appointed for a five-year term. An independent judiciary makes up another tier of government.

The two-party system has traditionally made it difficult for other parties to gain much power. Nevertheless, in the 1993 election the Alliance party, composed of the Greens and other groups including Labour groups and former National Party MPs, gained 18% of the vote. Election results in 1993 were so close that the National Party was only voted in by a majority of one seat, ahead of the Labour Party, and the smaller Alliance and NZ First parties, which both had two seats.

After a referendum in 1993 to assess the public's ideas on a number of electoral reforms, New Zealanders voted overwhelmingly for proportional representation. The government has introduced the MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) electoral system, which is a limited form of proportional voting based on the German electoral system.

Under MMP, electors have two votes: an electorate vote and a party vote. Of the 120 parliamentary seats, 60 are general electorates, where the candidate who receives the most electorate votes in an electorate is voted in directly as the member of parliament. A further five MPs represent five Maori electorates, chosen by Maori voters using their electorate votes. The remaining 55 'list' seats are allocated according to the percentage of the party vote received from a list of candidates nominated by political parties. A party must have at least 5% of the party vote or win an electorate seat to get its allocation of proportional list seats.

It remains to be seen how the new system will affect the existing political power base. The big winners from the changes are the largest minor parties, such as the Alliance, but small parties will still have difficulty gaining seats. The two main parties will continue to dominate parliament, but majority governments may become a thing of the past.

Flag

The New Zealand and Australian flags are very much alike. With the British flag in the top left-hand corner, the New Zealanders show the stars of the Southern Cross in red on a blue field.